Apple Original Film, A24 and Jennifer Lawrence are reteaming for a new feature film.

Landing on top of a competitive situation, Apple has acquired murder mystery package The Wives, which has Lawrence attached to star and produce.

Joining Lawrence on the producing team is Justine Ciarrocchi, her partner at the duo’s Excellent Cadaver production banner, as well as Tony and Independent Spirit Award nominee Jeremy O. Harris (Zola, Slave Play) and Josh Godfrey. The latter two will produce under their bb2 banner.

Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley wrote the script for the project, which is described as being in development. No director is attached.

Plot details are being kept in the body bag, but it is being described as being partly inspired by the Real Housewives franchise, which focuses on the soap operatic and over-the-top theatrics of well-to-do women in areas ranging from Orange County to Miami to Atlanta.

Eddie Murphy remembers quite clearly why, back in 1984 when he was just 23 years old, he didn’t think the first “Beverly Hills Cop” was going to be a success. It all went down at the film’s first industry screening.

“It didn’t go well,” the funnyman told me Thursday at the, yes, Beverly Hills premiere of “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” the fourth installment of the action comedy franchise. “A lot of times at industry screenings they don’t laugh. I thought the movie was going to be horrible. I was with [Murphy’s ‘Trading Places’ director] John Landis and he was like, ‘No, it was great.’ I thought they hated it. Then I went and saw it with a real audience and then I saw the real reaction to it. But the very first time it was scary.”

The original movie, released 40 years ago, went onto be a...

Ti West and A24 pulled off a killer surprise Thursday night, unveiling an early screening of their upcoming slasher movie Maxxxine to a group of unsuspecting horror fans.

The evening was billed as a double feature of West’s X horror series, which includes X and Pearl, the movies that thrust Mia Goth into the role Hollywood’s nouveau killer queen. The sold-out evening brought out film nerds and horror geeks of all shapes and hairstyles — some dressed up as Pearl, some wearing Pearl T-shirts, while others sported T-shirts with logos and characters ranging from X-Men to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood‘s Rick Dalton.

During a Q&a in between the two screenings, moderator and Maxxxine actress Lily Collins and West suddenly switched gears. Collins asked how many in the audience had seen Pearl — and almost all raised their hands. She then posited the question: if everyone had seen that movie,...

Kevin Costner is officially on to new horizons. The actor has hung up his “Yellowstone” hat, ruling out a return to the long-gestating final episodes of the hit Paramount Network series.

Costner, who has been on the promotional circuit for the first and second parts of his Western epic “Horizon,” made his decision known with a video on social media, filmed during the daytime but posted to his accounts on Thursday evening.

“After this long year-and-a-half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things that that’s required — and thinking about ‘Yellowstone,’ that beloved series that I love, that...

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films from The Dirty Dozen, Mash and Klute to Animal House and Ordinary People to Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.

The 2017 Honorary Oscar recipient also is the father of Emmy-winning 24 and Designated Survivor actor Kiefer Sutherland and veteran CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland. CAA confirmed the news to Deadline.

Related: Remembering Donald Sutherland: A Career In Photos

In some of his most well-known roles, he perfected a laconic, wry and dead-serious delivery. Such was the case for characters including the cool-headed amateur murder investigator John Klute, opposite Jane Fonda’s terrified and erratic call girl Bree Daniels in Klute; as Hawkeye Pierce in the film Mash, where he played opposite Elliott Gould’s cut-up Trapper John; and in Nicolas Roeg...

Korean multi-talent Yeon Sang-ho is getting back in business with Netflix for his next feature film — with a little help from Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.

Yeon has signed to direct a movie adaptation of his own popular Korean webtoon, Revelations, with Cuarón onboard to executive produce and consult on the project.

Yeon first became a familiar name to international film buffs in 2016 with his breakthrough zombie blockbuster Train to Busan. He’s since directed three projects for Netflix, the sci-fi feature Jung_E and the hit high-concept series Hellbound and Parasyte: The Grey. A second season of Hellbound is currently in the works.

Netflix declined to provide additional info on how Cuarón came to be involved in Revelations the movie, but Yeon shared his excitement over the partnership.

“Alfonso Cuarón, known for masterpieces like Children of Men and Gravity, has greatly influenced my work as a director,” he said. “I...

As hit films featuring the mega-lizard and ultra-ape ​b​attle it out on streaming,​ we look at what makes a great creature feature – from Jaws and Gremlins to low-budget indies like The Descent

You would be forgiven for not knowing this, given the disparity between its on-screen noise levels and its off-screen impact, but the second highest-grossing film of the year so far is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Less a film than a canny branding marriage, it has a title you may not be able to pronounce correctly (though I’m informed that it’s not Godzilla Times Kong), though it gives an otherwise easily recognisable proposition: two heavily franchised movie monsters, Japan’s mega-lizard and Hollywood’s ultra-ape, go head to head. “New Empire” is a lofty description for the loud, garishly computer-generated warfare that ensues, but the film is otherwise honest about what it’s offering.

Just six months ago, Jonathan Majors was convicted of domestic assault and harassment, but that didn’t stop the Hollywood Unlocked from honoring him with the “Perseverance Award” at the annual Impact Awards on Friday night in Beverly Hills.

“I’m imperfect. I have shortcomings — I acknowledge them,” Majors said, fighting tears his during lengthy remarks after being presented with the award by self-help guru and inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant.

It was an emotional moment for the actor, who took the stage following a sizzle reel that captured some of the “Creed III” and “Lovecraft Country” star’s career highs and personal lows, but he was greeted with a standing ovation from the starry crowd, led by Hollywood Unlocked founder Jason Lee.

Majors continuously denied all allegations throughout his 19-day trial, but in April, he was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling. Per the ruling of a NY judge,...

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: Through a Glass Very, Very Darkly

If Arthur Slugworth haunted your dreams as a child, then prepare for Günter Meisner to paint your adult nightmares with a sickly blue palette in “In a Glass Cage.”

German actor Meisner played a certain beloved chocolatier’s cadaverous arch-rival in Mel Stuart’s inherently creepy “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” in 1971 — exactly 15 years before he’d play a sadomasochistic Nazi doctor in Agustí Villaronga’s post-World War II revenge picture, “In a Glass Cage,” from 1986. And here, Meisner is just as lacking in...

[Editor’s Note: The following article contains light spoilers for “Fantasmas” through Episode 3, “Toilets.”]

Sitting in an office as transparently fake as any late-night talk show set, Julio Torres pitches his idea of Crayola’s next great crayon color: clear. The executives across from him are dubious, even angry at his proposal. “Clear isn’t a color,” one shouts. “If it isn’t a color, what do you call this?” Julio asks, gesturing to absolutely nothing. “Call what?” the suit asks. “The space between us — the emotional space,” Julio says, before waxing poetic (as he has before) about a clear glass of water, clear smells, and the clear memories all around them. “Some things aren’t one of the normal colors,” he says. “They don’t play by the rules of the rainbow. […] To color something clear is to acknowledge that some things are different, and that’s just fine.”

Instantly, a smile spread across my face. “Fantasmas,” from start to finish,...

The organizing principles of portmanteau films are often quite simplistic. A group of directors tackling a particular genre, for example, or films united by geography. An example of the latter is the straightforwardly-titled New York Stories, of which only Martin Scorsese’s “Life Lessons” is remembered much these days. Jim Jarmusch has made a few united around theme and setting — Coffee and Cigarettes, where famous actors sit down over a brew and a smoke; Night on Earth, where famous actors take cab rides in production-friendly cities around the world; and Mystery Train, where the stories are linked by a setting […]

The post “It Is Like a Palette Cleanser, In a Way…”: Yorgos Lanthimos on Following Poor Things with the Sardonic Portmanteau Film, Kinds of Kindness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Form and content align in the uniquely conceived and delightfully offbeat supernatural adventure “Ghost Cat Anzu.” For a movie about a reality where mortals and otherworldly spirits coexist on the same plane, the filmmakers decided to compound the flesh-and-bone realism of live action cinema and animation’s fantastical qualities. While the plot takes some jarring turns, its impish tone stays consistent throughout, making for a wildly enjoyable (if a bit perplexing) Japanese animated effort on its own wavelength.

Shot first with actors whose voices were also captured on location, this adaptation of Takashi Imashiro’s mid-2000s manga of the same name (written by screenwriter Shinji Imaoka) necessitated two directors. Nobuhiro Yamashita was in charge of staging the interactions between the cast to capture their subtle expressions. Then that footage served as the basis for the rotoscoped animation directed by Yôko Kuno with artists drawing over each frame to transform...

[Editor’s note: This list was originally published in December. It has since been updated to include new films from the director.]

Yorgos Lanthimos’ films all look different from each other, but they feel the same. Since the Greek director has made the transition from independent Greek cinema to larger Hollywood productions, the washed-out, largely white palettes and simple trappings of his earliest films have given way to more sumptuous cinematography and staging. Even the frills of thrillers like “The Lobster” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” feel bare-bones compared to his recent embrace of the costume drama with “The Favourite” and “Poor Things,” both of which feature alternatively gorgeous and (intentionally!) garish production design and costuming.

But when you look past the budget and the aesthetics of each film, every movie that Lanthimos has made feels like they share a similar cinematic language. The characters in his films tend to communicate through stilted but natural dialogue that often tilts toward deadpan, and hide their cruelty behind politeness and social niceties.

Miramax’s “Here,” which reunites “Forrest Gump” filmmaker Robert Zemeckis with stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, is adjusting its release this November.

The film, originally slated to premiere exclusively in L.A. and N.Y. on Nov. 15, followed by a limited release on Nov. 22, and a wide release on Nov. 27, is now landing a singular wide release on Nov. 15.

This summer marks 30 years since “Forrest Gump” first premiered. Zemeckis re-teamed with writer Eric Roth to pen the script for “Here,” which is based on the innovative 2014 graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire. It’s described as an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the human experience in its purest form for a tale of love, loss, laughter and life.

Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Dockery will also star. In January 2023, it was revealed that...

Donna Langley wants you to look on the bright side.

NBCUniversal’s chief content officer underscored the need for optimism in this troubled time in Hollywood – where austerity reigns, jobs are scarce and creatives are vexed by the approaching AI revolution.

“Everybody is talking about the doom and gloom of our industry, but we have to be believers,” Langley told legal legend Ken Ziffren on Friday, keynoting UCLA’s annual entertainment symposium.

The pair were specifically discussing the urgent dilemma in front of legacy media companies and tech giants – how to monetize streaming content as linear television and theatrical moviegoing continue to fall out of consumer favor.

“Broadcast is a huge platform and a great megaphone for our brands and IP. We care about it from a dollars-and-cents perspective, but we’re not interested in accelerating its decline,” said Langley, who last year absorbed creative control of NBCUniversal’s television...

The story of the motorcycle rider is one that has fascinated filmmakers and cinema goers alike for over half a century, most recently in Jeff Nichols’ love letter to the 1960s heyday of biker clubs, “The Bikeriders.” Like the photobook by Danny Lyon that inspired it, the film is a series of snapshots of life as a rider and the violence and destruction that often come as a result of this lifestyle, even if the clubs these riders belong to initially just set out to support each other.

“The club starts off as a mutual love and admiration for riding,” said “Bikeriders” star Jodie Comer in a recent interview with IndieWire, “but over time becomes dark and criminal and violent.”

It’s a narrative featured in a lot of films showcasing the world on two wheels, where motorcycle riders are viewed as vandals and terrorists who want nothing more than...

Batman villains tend to fall into two categories; the gleefully irredeemable ones and the tragic ones. Two-Face falls, naturally, on both ends of this spectrum because he's two minds in one.

He was once crusading Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, one of the few honest officials in a den of corruption. Until, while prosecuting a case, he got acid thrown in his face, leaving half of it horribly scarred. Now he is Two-Face, a villain split between good and evil and fixated on games of chance (hence his habit of flipping a coin). Since Harvey Dent (personified in Two-Face's unscarred half) still lives, Batman often tries to pull him back to the light, never quite succeeding.

At least, that's how it usually is. The upcoming series "Batman: Caped Crusader" will be taking a different approach to Two-Face.

Vanity Fair recently published a deep-dive into the soon-arriving Prime Video cartoon,...

The "Terrifier" franchise has become a horror hit. These gory movies are made on the cheap, which helps with a big box office haul. But more than that, they've developed a big cult following thanks to new slasher icon Art the Clown, the frequently blood-soaked killer at the center of the story. Art made his debut in the short films "The 9th Circle" and "Terrifier." He returned in the horror anthology flick "All Hallows' Eve," before getting his own feature film, "Terrifier" (adapted from the short film of the same name). "Terrifer" is an ultra-gory pic in which Art stalks two women (and others) on Halloween night. Gore-hounds loved the blood and guts, but a lot of people criticized the movie for being little more than series of bloody moments with no real narrative.

To his credit, Damien Leone, the creator of Art and director of "Terrifer," took these criticisms to heart,...

In April 2019, New York magazine published “Larry Ray and the Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence,” a shocking account of a group of bright college students who fell under the influence of a classmate’s father and did everything he asked of them, no matter how vile — ultimately resulting in his incarceration for sex trafficking, extortion, and conspiracy. As a Sarah Lawrence graduate, director Elisabeth Rohm read the article with intense interest. “It could have happened to me,” she told IndieWire. “I felt so strongly about that.” Rohm immediately saw the potential for a compelling feature film, but it would take several years of script development and untangling of legal issues for the story to finally make it to the screen.

The result was worth the wait. Lifetime’s “Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story” is easily one of the best TV movies in years, a tonally complex and expertly...

In a letter to his mother written on January 4, 1892, Arthur Tolkien broke the news that his wife had just given birth to their first son. "The baby is (of course) lovely. It has beautiful hands and ears (very long fingers), very light hair, 'Tolkien' eyes and very distinctly a 'Suffield' mouth," Arthur enthused. "In general effect immensely like a very fair edition of its Aunt Mabel Mitton."

The lovely baby was given the name John Ronald Reubel Tolkien, and some years later he used his very long fingers to write a fantasy novel called "The Hobbit" and its epic follow-up, "The Lord of the Rings." Now, 132 years after Arthur Tolkien wrote his letter, Amazon's spin-off TV series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is gearing up for the premiere of its second season -- and a father and son relationship will be a key part of the story.

In Episode 3 of “Presumed Innocent” (“The Discovery”), showrunner David E. Kelley turns the heat on Jake Gyllenhaal’s Rusty Sabitch, Chicago’s slick chief deputy prosecutor suspected of brutally murdering his pregnant mistress and colleague, Carolyn (Renate Reinsve). It kicks off with Rusty receiving the shocking text —”You were there, I saw you” — which places him at the scene of the crime, denies him an alibi, and further points to his guilt.

For editor Philip Neel (Episodes 3 and 6), this was a great entry point for cutting Rusty’s obsession with Carolyn and how it spiraled out of control in a twisted confluence of sex, politics, power, and love. “Nobody writes better courtroom drama than David Kelley,” Neel told IndieWire. “And he made a lot of changes. He was able to expand the dimensions of the mystery and flesh out the characters more [beyond Scott Turow’s 1987 novel and the 1990 movie starring...

Following the franchise-topping $426 million success of “Bad Boys for Life” was going to be a tough task for any director. Fortunately, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has two — the Belgian directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, collectively billed as Adil & Bilall.

In this fourth installment, Adil & Bilall send Miami Pd detectives Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) on the run, framed for crimes they didn’t commit. And the production had plenty of hurdles to get over before it, too, could clear a path to success. First, there was Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap; then production was suspended by Hollywood’s historic dual strikes.

The film hit theaters on June 7 and became the first movie to jolt Hollywood’s summer box office, grossing $106 million at the global box office from a $100 million production budget (not accounting for the price of the splashy world tour to promote the film). To date,...

There is a reason why Jodie Foster has never been on Broadway.

The actress told Interview magazine during a discussion with “The Bikeriders” star Jodie Comer that she has steered clear of theater acting after enduring a “traumatic” experience when she was 18.

Foster, who catapulted to fame after her turn as a child prostitute in “Taxi Driver,” was at the center of a presidential assassination attempt after would-be-murderer John Hinckley publicly dedicated his act of violence to her. The assassination attempt took place during Foster’s one and only theater acting experience. Later, an audience member brought a gun into the theater during her play, and Foster has opted to never return to the stage.

“I’m finally able to admit that the one bit of theater I did when I was in college, there was so much trauma involved in it — well, just quickly, the play happened in two weekends,...

If Adam Aron seems perturbed this weekend, it’s not about the box office (or even his company’s meme stock) this time.

On Thursday, Netflix took a page out of AMC’s playbook and launched its own popcorn line: Netflix Now Popping. The streamer has teamed up with Popcorn Indiana for its new ready-to-eat (no microwaving) products, now available nationwide at Walmart stores. Guess where AMC’s popcorn has been sold exclusively for more than a year? Right. Walmart is the biggest retailer in the country, and its shelves are precious real estate. Aron must be losing his mind.

AMC Theatres’ branded popcorn comes in both ready-to-eat and un-popped form. Its flavors are Classic Butter, Extra Butter, and low-sodium option Lightly Salted. Netflix’s popcorn features flavors like Cult Classic Cheddar Kettle Corn and Swoonworthy Cinnamon Kettle Corn. We’re not exactly swooning over either of those names; AMC...

The “Transformers” movies have as streamlined a continuity as the “Fast and Furious” series, from the franchise’s inception (where the U.S. and Japan had different continuities) to the live-action movies retconning themselves with each new installment. Now comes “Transformers One” (out September 24), a movie set before the live-action films or even the 1986 animated film, but don’t expect it to connect that directly to those titles. Instead, this is the beginning of a new, standalone (yet still connected) continuity that takes us back to the very beginning, before the destruction of Cybertron, before the civil war, and before there even were Megatron and Optimus Prime. This is a place of vast opportunity, the “Transformers” equivalent of the Old Republic era of “Star Wars.”

“I think of this as the beginning of a new continuity where eventually the kind of major set pieces that we come to know of ‘Transformers’ would still happen,...

“Only Murders in the Building” will be getting even more murder-solvers with a meta twist.

The upcoming fourth season of the beloved Hulu series will star Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria as the film adaptation versions of Steve Martin’s Charles, Martin Short’s Oliver, and Selena Gomez’s Mabel, respectively.

Levy, Galifianakis, and Longoria were all previously announced as cast members, but there roles are now confirmed. All actors are playing versions of themselves.

Of course, Levy, Galifianakis, and Longoria are no strangers to TV. Levy led Emmy-winning viral series “Schitts Creek,” while Longoria appeared in the iconically camp ABC drama “Desperate Housewives.” Galifianakis starred alongside Ted Danson in the cult HBO comedy “Bored to Death,” another show that combined elements of comedy and murder mystery.

Per the official synopsis for “Only Murders in the Building” Season 4, the main trio’s investigation leads them all the way...

Billy Zane knows the body keeps score — and the “Titanic” actor wants his paycheck to reflect that.

In the era of intimacy coordinators and therapists on sets, Zane told Entertainment Weekly that perhaps protocols should be taken one step further.

“Actors should get emotional stunt pay,” Zane said. “The secondary experience encroaches on the primary. It really does. You’re recreating much weird trauma. We’re putting coursing adrenaline through our bodies and depleting serotonin and dopamine and freaking ourselves out and the body registers it.”

Zane stars in Lifetime movie “Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story,” portraying the titular Sarah Lawrence cult leader Larry Ray who is currently serving 60 years in prison.

“I’ve played nefarious characters in the past and then shied from it for a while. I couldn’t resist this one because of just the curious nature of it,” Zane said. “And I hadn’t...

Jennifer Lawrence is leaning in to her Bravo super fandom.

The consummate “Real Housewives” franchise binger and frequent “Wwhl” guest will lead a film in development for Apple Original Films and A24 called “The Wives” that will feature a “Housewives” inspired murder, an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

Much like Netflix’s “Knives Out” ensemble whodunit, “The Wives” will focus on elite housewives who may or may not have a murderer among them, according to Variety, which first reported the news. Specific plot details are being kept under wraps.

The feature will be written by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, who both wrote the Pulitzer Prize finalist play “Circle Jerk.”

“The Wives” will be produced by Jeremy O. Harris (“Zola,” “Slave Play”) and Josh Godfrey under their bb2 banner. Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi are also producing for their banner Excellent Cadaver.

The satirical murder mystery “The Wives...

Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” (Disney) grossed $254 million in its first seven days in U.S. and Canadian theaters. By as early as Saturday, it will best “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) as 2024’s biggest success, and by Sunday, the film should reach at least $315 million.

The surprisingly strong animated sequel (top industry projections gave it a shot at $300 million) now looks certain to gross at least $500 million for its run. That would make it the sixth to do so since theaters reopened.

Buttressed by summer vacation and the mid-week Juneteenth holiday, the seven-day total is $14 million better than “Super Mario Bros.,” and stunningly only $4 million below “Barbie.” But at this point, odds are against “Inside Out 2” equaling “Mario” ($574 million), much less reaching “Barbie” ($636 million). But to be even talking about getting close is an incredible accomplishment for Disney’s Pixar unit, which since Covid struck, has not managed...

A New Mexico judge on Friday denied Alec Baldwin’s second attempt to throw out his manslaughter indictment, finding that it should be up to a jury to decide if his recklessness led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin is due to face a trial in Santa Fe beginning on July 9. He is accused of negligently pointing a Colt .45 at Hutchins and pulling the trigger during filming of the Western film “Rust.”

Baldwin’s lawyer, John Bash, argued Friday that the unique circumstances of the case do not rise to the level of negligence required for an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Baldwin and others have said that they were told that his gun was “cold.” Bash argued that the state has conceded that everyone on set believed that the gun was loaded with dummy rounds.

Therefore, Bash argued, Baldwin was unaware of the danger posed by the gun, which...

The actor makes a decent bid for action stardom with her first movie in five years, a derivative yet watchable attempt to kick off a new franchise

We’ve not seen that much of Jessica Alba on screen of late, the once-hard-to-avoid star mostly stepping back from movies. She took time to focus on motherhood with three kids to care for as well as expanding her don’t-call-it-Goop eco-friendly brand The Honest Company, which at its peak was worth $1bn, a persuasive enough reason to put a pause on Hollywood for a while.

But after stepping down from her role as COO, she decided to launch her own production company, now taking on her first bona fide lead since 2016’s little-seen horror The Veil. It’s a smart choice of both genre and platform, a Netflix action movie that should be an easy win, her brand of 2000s fame making...

It’s been just over two months since we learned the surprise news that the Sundance Film Festival could leave its longtime home in Park City, Utah when its contract with the city expires ahead of the 2027 festival. The Sundance Institute in April launched a formal process to determine where its next host city could be, and today, it wraps up a key step in that process.

Friday June 21 is the official deadline of Sundance’s Request for Proposal window, meaning cities that were selected by Sundance in the first window — the Request for Information — had to formally submit a bid outlining their plan complete with specific details about how they would support the festival in their city. The next step will be for Sundance to go through all the proposals and select its finalists, with a final decision coming between Q4 of this year and Q1 of next year.

Believe it: “Thelma” is the first leading role in the great character actress June Squibb’s four-decade screen career.

The 94-year-old star, whose guileless way in any movie suggests an actor who shows up to set and hits her mark without any fuss, feels ubiquitous in our screen lifetime. Since earning her SAG card in the 1980s and impressing in small roles on TV and film through the ’90s, she received the Oscar nomination that changed everything in 2014 as Will Forte’s cantankerous, tombstone-flashing mother in “Nebraska.” Squibb also played Lena Dunham’s ailing grandmother, spouting barbs from her deathbed, in HBO’s “Girls.” And she’s had roles in “The Big Bang Theory,” “Bones,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Good Girls,” and recently lent her voice to “Inside Out 2” as Nostalgia. Basically, if you need a granny who shirks nonsense for wisdom, and is a reassuring presence in spite of blunt truths,...

Marvel’s “Blade” just can’t seem to unsheathe its vampire-killing sword. As we recapped recently in a piece where we suggested several directors who could take over the project, “Blade” in its development since 2019, has gone through two directors and a litany of writers attached to different versions of the film.

But a new THR piece documenting the “Blade” development problems, “Why ‘Blade’ Can’t Cut Through Development Hell,” has a few more tidbits of information and has confirmed a lot of the rumors that have been floating around.

Continue reading ‘Blade’: A Frustrated Mahershala Ali With Lots Of Influence & A New Script Being Written This Summer & More at The Playlist.

In Civil War, the United States has splintered into four clashing factions, but if you’re expecting a treatise on the country’s ideological divide from British writer-director Alex Garland, this is not that movie. America’s dysfunction is secondary to examining the toll on the journalists covering the conflict. The story follows a quartet of correspondents (including jaded photographer Kirsten Dunst and green Cailee Spaeny) as they travel to the war’s front in Washington D.C. in hopes of landing an interview with the embattled president (Nick Offerman). Cinematographer Rob Hardy, who’s lensed all of Garland’s projects since the novelist/screenwriter turned to the […]

The post Holding the Chicken: Dp Rob Hardy on Civil War first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Netflix and A24 have some serious star power in mind for Beef Season 2. Deadline reports that Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan are in talks to star in the next season of the anthology series. And if the pair get cast, they’ll play one of two couples who get into an increasingly crazy feud.

Read More: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2024

If Isaac and Mulligan make they cut, they make square off against Charles Melton and Cailee Sapeny, who were in talks to play the other couple.

Continue reading ‘Beef’: Oscar Isaac & Carey Mulligan In Talks To Star In Season 2 Of Netflix/A24’s Anthology Series at The Playlist.

It’s a whodunit with a whole lot of drama. Jennifer Lawrence will get to feud, day-drink and access oodles of disposable income, at least until a body turns up, in “The Wives,” a murder mystery that is in the vein of “The Real Housewives.”

Apple Original Films acquired the project in what it is describing as a “highly competitive situation.” Lawrence will produce the film alongside Justine Ciarrocchi for her company, Excellent Cadaver. Tony and Independent Spirit Award nominee Jeremy O. Harris and Josh Godfrey will also produce the picture under their bb2 banner. It is currently in development, so no word on the final plot or when it might shoot.

“The Wives” will be written by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, the writers of the play “Circle Jerk,” which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The film is co-produced by Apple Studios and A24, which previously worked together on “Causeway,...

Eddie Murphy definitely wasn’t going to pull a Keanu Reeves in “John Wick” for action-comedy film “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”

Murphy said on the “Today” show that he “felt like (an) old man” when filming the fourth franchise installment. Murphy first played the titular Detroit detective who goes undercover in Los Angeles back in 1984.

“I did ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ when I was 21, and I’m 63 now,” Murphy said.

“Now, I would rather not do any stunts,” he said. “We were shooting something and the director [Mark Molloy] said, ‘I want you to come out of this place and run down those steps.’ And After we shot and he’s like, ‘Can you come down with more urgency and faster?’ And I was like, ‘No!’ I was like, ‘I’m not doing anything action. Don’t call me unless you offer me the same type of shit you would...

It’s New York City, 1989. Susan Seidelman is in the delivery room, in labor with her son. “Siskel and Ebert” plays on the TV, and in between contractions, the two critics are tearing apart her new movie “She-Devil.” “Watching them review my film literally with the doctor’s hand inside of me telling me to push was very strange,” Seidelman recalls.

That surreal scene is just one of the memorable moments the trailblazing director recounts in “Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls.” By turns reflective and celebratory, the book covers the surprises and setbacks of a career carved out at a time when women filmmakers were a rarity.

When Seidelman first realized she could aspire to become a movie director, she could barely find a role model. Outside of Elaine May, there was only a small handful of women directing. But Seidelman kept at it,...

Elle Fanning is cheers-ing to a Coppola reunion.

The actress stars in Sofia Coppola’s latest commercial for The House of Suntory. Coppola previously filmed a Suntory ad with Keanu Reeves during the 20th anniversary of 2003’s “Lost in Translation.”

Fanning, who previously appeared in Coppola’s actual film “The Beguiled,” hosts a dinner party in Japan for the near-60-second spot that captures the “vibrant world of Roku Gin,” per the description. (Not to be confused with this Roku.)

“Sofia was the one who told me about this project,” Fanning said to Interview magazine about joining the campaign. “I think they had asked her if she wanted to direct a commercial and shoot the campaign for this. And she thought of me, which was very sweet. I mean, I’ll do anything for Sofia. But I loved the concept that Roku had come up with for this campaign, with the cherry blossoms,...

Oz Perkin‘s “Longlegs” hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but Neon already wants to promote their next movie together. And that’s a sign that the distribution company expects big things from Perkin’s upcoming serial killer thriller. But before more “Longlegs” buzz, the scoop du jour: “The Monkey,” Perkin’s next horror film for Neon, will hit theaters next winter on February 21, 2025.

Continue reading ‘The Monkey’: Neon Slots Oz Perkin’s Upcoming Stephen King Adaption For A February 21, 2025 Theatrical Release at The Playlist.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo goes on a joyride with one of the stars of “The Bikeriders.” The film follows the members of a Chicago-area biker gang from their innocent inception in the 1960s to their descent into a darker underworld. The Jeff Nichols (“Mud,” “Midnight Special,” “Take Shelter”) film stars Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook, and more.

Continue reading ‘The Bikeriders’: Jodie Comer On Her Motorcycle Drama, Ending ‘Killing Eve,’ Danny Boyle’s ’28 Years Later’ & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Jeff Nichols' "Alien Nation" remake is still happening, but it won't have the "Alien Nation" title anymore.

In 2016, the writer/director of films like "Mud," "Take Shelter," and "Midnight Special" was tapped to direct a remake of the 1988 film "Alien Nation" by 20th Century Fox. A couple of years later, Nichols gave us an update about the project, explaining that it was set in his home state of Arkansas, would have a $100 million budget, and he referred to it as "epic." But when Disney purchased Fox in 2019, the movie fell by the wayside and it seemed to be dead forever. In early 2021, Nichols revealed that Disney asked him to expand his screenplay into a 10-episode TV series, and at the time, he was awaiting word about whether or not that version would move forward. Then, a few months later, an announcement came out that Nichols was developing an original sci-fi...

Apparently, the succession plot twists at the Renaissance Fair in Todd Mission, Texas did not end with the conclusion of the three-part HBO docuseries “Ren Faire.” In fact, according to director Lance Oppenheim, it was the airing of the last two episodes on June 9 that actually led to the latest chapter in the saga.

“George [Coulam] watched Episodes 2 and 3, and he loved the series so much that he actually cleaned the office out again and he gave Jeff [Baldwin] his old job back, so now Jeff is the new general manager,” said Oppenheim on an upcoming episode of IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast. “Jeff is back in charge.”

This is the position Baldwin was in at the start of Episode 1 of “Ren Faire.” The loyal, dedicated employee of 43 years, had risen from being the festival’s long-serving entertainment director to its new general manager, in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the...

Who watches "The Watchers"? Unfortunately, the answer to that is: Not nearly as many moviegoers as writer/director Ishana Night Shyamalan probably would've liked for her debut feature. As /Film's Ryan Scott laid out in his box office reporting, the younger Shyamalan's folk horror film couldn't quite duplicate the consistent theatrical success of her famous father, continuing 2024's downward trend of buzzy-sounding titles struggling to live up to expectations among general audiences and genre fans. Granted, the mixed reviews likely didn't help its cause, including one by yours truly (which you can read here) that nonetheless pointed out the immense amount of promise and potential on display for Shyamalan's future efforts. But for those who were scared off by the critical reception or the spooky premise the first time around, curious viewers will soon get their chance to catch the movie from home in very little time at all.

Those...

Andrew Callaghan, the 27-year-old director and journalist known for his popular Channel 5 YouTube videos, is back with his most intimate project yet: “Dear Kelly.”

The documentary is Callaghan’s first major project since his directorial debut “This Place Rules,” which premiered on HBO in 2022. It also marks his return to feature filmmaking since he paused his career in light of sexual misconduct allegations in early 2023. After apologizing for his past behavior, Callaghan went on hiatus, began attending therapy and completed a 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program. Now, he’s on tour showcasing “Dear Kelly” to fans across the country and plans to distribute it independently later this year.

“Dear Kelly” originated at a 2021 White Lives Matter rally in Huntington Beach, Calif., when Callaghan met a pro-Trump protester who called himself Kelly J. Patriot (real name: Kelly Johnson). In his man-on-the-street style, Callaghan interviewed Johnson for one of his Channel 5 videos.

Good news for Francis Ford Coppola earlier this week, as Lionsgate stepped up to snag distribution rights for his self-financed “Megalopolis.” But THR reports there’s a catch to the Lionsgate deal for Ffc: the 85-year-old will need to spend up to $20 million in marketing for the film’s theatrical release. That’s on top of the $120 million Coppola already spent to finance his passion project in the first place.

Continue reading ‘Megalopolis’: Francis Ford Coppola Will Pay Up To $20 Million In Marketing For Lionsgate’s Theatrical Release Of His Magnum Opus at The Playlist.

TV and film actor Brian Tee has signed with Verve and Authentic Talent & Literary Management for representation.

Tee recently starred alongside Nicole Kidman in the limited series “Expats,” directed by Lulu Wang for Prime Video. Up next, he will appear in Season 3 of Prime Video’s action series “Reacher” alongside star Alan Ritchson.

Widely known for his role as Dr. Ethan Choi for eight seasons in NBC’s popular Dick Wolf medical drama “Chicago Med,” Brian recently returned to the series to direct an episode for its current season.

“It was not necessarily an easy yes,” he told Variety in 2023 about returning to helm an episode. “I’m sure there’s a bit of a hesitation. But I think everyone has known that I’ve been wanting to do this. It wasn’t just something new, out of the blue. It’s been something I’ve been working toward.

John Ford’s classic Western “The Searchers” is back on the big screen — and this time, in 70mm.

IndieWire can exclusively unveil the full lineup for Museum of the Moving Image and Mubi’s ninth annual “See It Big: 70mm” film festival, with “The Searchers” headlining. The annual summer 70mm series is New York City’s only festival of 70mm films. The festival takes place from July 18 through August 18.

Ford’s “The Searchers” in 70mm will make its East Coast premiere after the print debuted at the American Cinematheque earlier this year. From July 18-21, the 1956 masterpiece will be presented seven times in a new restoration and newly struck 70mm print. The film was scanned from the original 35mm VistaVision camera negative for this print and has been approved by The Film Foundation, which was founded by Martin Scorsese. (He’s credited “The Searchers” for being a direct influence on his Oscar-winning film “Taxi Driver.

Karla Sofía Gascón, who delivered a breakthrough performance as a ruthless narco gangster transitioning in Jacques Audiard’s crime musical “Emilia Pérez,” has revealed how she fought to get the part.

“At the beginning, (Audiard) did not consider me for the role (of Juan “Manitas” Del Monte), he only wanted me to play the female role after the transition,” the Spanish actress said during a masterclass at the Biarritz’ Nouvelles Vagues Festival, speaking in a packed theater. “It took me a long time to convince him that I could do both, and thanks to… I don’t know what, thanks to this universe, I ended up convincing him.”

Gascón’s performance in the film would earn her the best acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

From the start, she felt that it was “absolutely obvious” that she had to play both roles. “I do not see which actor would...